UVA Preview

Who: Virginia Tech Hokies (15-12, 4-8) vs Virginia Cavaliers (20-6, 7-5)

When: Tuesday, February 21 @ 9:00 p.m.

TV: ESPNU (Carter Blackburn and Jay Williams)

Where: Cassell Coliseum (9,847), Blacksburg, VA

The Hokies and 'Hoos renew their rivalry inside Cassell tonight nearly a month to the day after their first meeting, a 47-45 Virginia Tech victory in Charlottesville. Here's what I wrote prior to the first game:

As you can see, there isn’t much offense from the Hoos outside of their two starts, Joe Harris and Mike Scott. Harris loves to shoot the three, as he did pretty well against the Hokies last year (6-10 in two games). He’s taken 85 attempts from beyond the arc this year, and is making about 39 percent of those attempts. This year, though, he has started to create a game inside the arc, where he’s shooting right around 47 percent.

The real story for UVA, though, is super senior Mike Scott. After missing the majority of last year with a knee injury, Scott received a medical redshirt and is taking full advantage. He is a legitimate candidate for the ACC MVP and has absolutely shredded the Hokies in his previous four years at UVA. He’s scored 20+ points in each of the last three games and is averaging nearly 15ppg against Tech during his career to go along with eight boards per game.

Sammy Zeglinski has always been a thorn in Tech’s side and usually plays an infamous role in these games. Whether it’s getting destroyed by a Jeff Allen screen or hitting miracle shots to send games into overtime (video clip not available), Zeglinski always seems to be around.

One bit of good news for Tech is that UVA center Assane Sene fractured his right ankle on Thursday against Georgia Tech and will be out for the next six weeks. In his place steps a much smaller (Sene is 7”), but more athletic Akil Mitchell. However, with Mitchell in the lineup, an already thin UVA bench becomes that much more thinner. Malcom Brogdon (6-5, FR) is the only legitimate bench threat, averaging 6.5ppg.

Both teams struggled offensively, but Dorenzo Hudson's three with less than 20 seconds to go secured the two-point win for Tech. If you want to relive it, you can watch the highlights here.

The Hokies are coming off a buzzer-beating victory over Georgia Tech thanks to the aforementioned Hudson. In fact, each of Virginia Tech's last three games have been decided by just one point each. The Hokies will more than likely be without the services of Victor Davila again, which is a shame considering how well he shut down Mike Scott in the first meeting. Tech's countered with a lot of zone defense to protect its lack of depth, but it will be interesting to see how the Hokies plan to show down one of the league's best post players.

UVA, meanwhile, has lost three of its last five but blew out Maryland by 27 over the weekend. Scott is still dominating down low, averaging 17 points and 8 boards a game. The 'Hoos interior defense has struggled since the injury to Assane Sene and their best outside shooter, Joe Harris, broke his non-shooting hand 10 days ago against UNC, but has continued to play. However in the two games since, he's scored just eight points and averaged 19 minutes per game.

Tech is in for a challenge tonight against a quality opponent in UVA. Odds are it won't be as ugly as the first meeting, but it probably won't be an exhibition of basketball they'll want to put in the hall of fame. Expect another close finish that will likely come down to the final possession again.